Flywheel Makes Getting a Taxi Easier in 5 New U.S. Markets

Flywheel, the app that lets you request a cab, track its location in real-time, and pay automatically with your smartphone, announced today it has expanded to several additional cities in Northern and Southern California, and two new cities in the Midwest and Southeast regions.

Starting this week, Flywheel technology is available in cabs in the East Bay, as well as various communities in Modesto, Calif. The company also expanded its presence in Southern California, launching in several cities in Orange County. Additionally, Flywheel now offers service through existing fleets in Oklahoma City and Daytona Beach, Fla., part of the company’s national growth strategy beyond its existing presence in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

“People in cities across the U.S. want safe, reliable and affordable for-hire transportation options they can access through their smartphones – without the typical surge pricing of our competitors,” said Steve Humphreys, CEO at Flywheel. “Our aggressive expansion across California and into markets in the Midwest and Southeast reflects this rising demand among consumers, and we will continue to respond to these needs as part of our ongoing national-growth plan

National Expansion Details

California
• Flywheel technology has been installed in cabs serving the East Bay cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda and Emeryville
• In Orange County, the Flywheel service is available in the cities of Irvine, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa, among others
• Flywheel also has partnered with United Cab of Modesto, which offers coverage in Modesto and surrounding communities

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Flywheel’s technology is now available in approximately 100 cars operated by Thunder Cab in Oklahoma City, representing about 40 percent of the taxis in the city
• In addition to the Oklahoma City metro area, Thunder Cab serves the neighboring cities of Edmond, North Oklahoma City, South Oklahoma City, Moore, Yukon, Del City and Midwest City

Daytona Beach, Florida
• In Daytona Beach, Flywheel’s services can be found in some 50 Yellow Cab Daytona cars, representing about 45 percent of the taxis currently in operation
• In addition to Daytona Beach, Flywheel is also supporting the surrounding communities served by Yellow Cab

Humphreys added that Flywheel has long-standing relationships with fleet partners in many of these new markets, giving the company a “considerable competitive advantage in both scalability and quality control.”

“We’re pleased to offer our riders a safe, simple and reliable means of transportation through our partnership with Flywheel,” said Jaffar Naiam with Thunder Cab in Oklahoma City. “Our community has embraced the technology vigorously, and we’re already seeing the benefits, as a company, of employing the app in our 100 cars.”

Flywheel employs a highly sustainable business model by using existing taxi partners rather than adding more cars on the road. Every for-hire driver Flywheel works with is fully licensed, 100 percent insured and vetted, using FBI fingerprint background checks, helping to ensure the highest level of safety for customers, pedestrians and other cars on the road.

For more information, please visit flywheel.com or follow on us on Twitter @FlywheelNow and in Seattle @Flywheel_SEA, San Francisco @Flywheel_SF and Los Angeles @Flywheel_LA.

The Flywheel app is available for iPhone users in the App Store and on Android through Google Play. Flywheel is currently available in thousands of vehicles in Seattle; San Francisco; Oakland and other East Bay communities; Los Angeles; Modesto Calif.; Orange County, Calif.; Oklahoma City; and Daytona Beach, Fla. The company plans to expand in additional cities in the future through partnerships with reputable taxi and for-hire companies.

About Flywheel:

Flywheel, founded in 2009, has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Flywheel is one of the first companies to apply mobile and real-time geolocation technology to bring on-demand hired rides to consumers by phone. Every taxi company Flywheel works with has wheelchair-accessible cabs and vans, supports service dogs, carries always-on insurance, and features legally licensed drivers who know the city inside and out. The Flywheel app is compatible with voice-over software for visually impaired customers. Flywheel’s Investors include Craton Equity Partners, RockPort Capital, Shasta Ventures and Sand Hill Angels. For more information, please visit flywheel.com.